And as raiders wait for a man,
So a band of priests murder on the way to Shechem;
Surely they have committed crime.

"Ephraim compromises with the nations; he's a half-baked cake.

But Israel has rejected what is morally good; so an enemy will pursue him.

"Because they sow the wind, they will reap the wind storm. The plant has no stalk and its bud yields no grain. Even if there's a harvest, foreigners will gobble it up.

So a great outcry will go up from among your people, and all your strong places will be broken, as Beth-arbel was broken by Shalman in the day of war, as the mother was broken on the rocks with her children.